All Forum Posts by: Greg Scott

An ESA is not considered a pet. You cannot deny them because you don't want an animal on the property. You would be violating the law for doing that.

Be comforted that most prospective residents don't provide proper ESA documentation.  They will pay $50 to get something off the internet because they do not want to pay pet rent.

Ask them for proof of an ESA. According to HUD guidelines, they should provide you a letter from a healthcare professional, licensed in your state, indicating the need for an ESA, and mentioning an ongoing relationship. (one-time telehealth diagnoses do not count)

If they cannot provide that, give them a letter saying their ESA documentation is insufficient and the animal is not allowed on your property.  Do not educate them on why it is insufficient or they will go get what you tell them they need.

Hard Money Loan

I'm very skeptical of the above sentence. I've never seen anyone that can accurately tell you if a house, stock, precious metal is going to go up or down. Who decided it was 30% overpriced?  What criteria did they use to decide that?

I'm never a fan of over-paying, but some markets have remained "overpriced" for decades.  Just look at California as an example.

When I look at an investment, the question I ask is will it deliver the returns I want based on what is known, ignoring speculation.  Since you are looking at a house hack, the "knowns" are usually much more favorable.  After all, you have to live somewhere.  Are you better off paying rent or buing a triplex and renting out two units.  Almost certainly the latter.  What if it is true that the market is 30% overpriced?  Does it matter if you essentially pay nothing for housing for a year, or 3 years or 10 years?

Don't let fear stop you from making a decision that can improve your life.

This hit my LinkedIn feed and I thought it was worth re-posting here for your amusement...

In your assessment, is the carpet in good condition?  It is not uncommon for landlords to hope that the condition of their property is "good enough" when really things should be repaired or replaced.  It should look new.  If it is worn or stained, yes, put in new carpet.

On the other hand, we have had prospective residents tell us that we need to replace this stove or that carpet, and sometimes they are brand new.  They may not like the color or brand so in their mind it needs replacing. We don't throw away new carpet just because one prospective resident doesn't like it.  Also, in my experience, if a prospective resident is telling you to replace things that are new, you probably don't want them as a resident.  Their complaining usually gets worse after they move in.

What liability do you have when wholesaling? Probably very little unless you are mis-rpesenting the property.

As a wholesaler, are you an attractive lawsuit target?  Not unless you have a lot of other assets.

Saying "there is mold" is like saying "there is pollen" or "there is dust".  Mold can be found pretty much anywhere there is water and organic material.  This means EVERY house, home, hovel, apartment, and dorm has mold.

Frankly, I would be very generous about letting them out of their lease so they can go find a mold-free place to live.

That depends what you mean by multifamily.  Duplexes, tris, and quads are all valued comps, just like single family.  Because of the way they are valued, there isn't that much difference in the business plan for profitably acquiring and running these.  If you buy a SF rental, you pretty much have the idea.  With more than one unit, the biggest difference is that you have tenants complaining about each other and the property picks up more of the maintenance, like lawn mowing.

There is a huge difference when you get to 5+ units as those are valued using the income method.  The business plan to profitability is very different. 

If you are just starting out, I'd recommend starting in single family.  If, for whatever reason, you don't want to go that route and don't have enough to buy a 5 or 10 unit building, then syndication is one route. 

I would caution you to pick your sponsor very wisely.  Many charge fees all over the place.  One of my most detested is the acquisition fee.  This is when syndicators justify getting paid at closing for having done nothing but acquire a property.  But, there are many other fees that you could be charged so read the legal docs in full.  Other syndiicators are not good operators.  When the tide was coming in, it floated all the boats, but some of them are now struggling in this economic cycle.  I would also NEVER invest with someone who is just a money-raiser. (There are many out there.)  If the person you are talking to is not the person who is going to be overseeing operations, find out who is or don't invest.

Yes, this has come up in the forums before, so I've looked into it, but I have no personal experience with this company.

If my kids were considering this, I would advise against this.  While the financing and small entry price sound great, you are locked into their ecosystem with very little control. What do you do if you are unhappy with management?  If you want to sell do you have to sell through them?  If they decide to sell, what happens?

If your credit is good and you can scrape $25K together, you would be better off buying a SF rental.

Condos have much more risk than a SF rental.

A condo HOA can decide there are already too many rentals in the community and prevent you from renting yours. A condo HOA can decide they want to replace all the roofs, but if the bank account is low, hit you with a $5,000 special assessment. A condo association can get in legal trouble and banks won't lend to prospective buyers, making it nearly impossible for you to sell your condo. Those examples are not the worst thing that can happen to you.

Condos are a much riskier investment than a SF rental because you control so much less of the deal.  Buy a condo at your own peril.